Which route to take?

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techglider

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I currently have a bachelor's in Management Information systems and work full time as an Application developer... Although it's alright, it is not what i really enjoy.. I work with Java, SQL, XML/XSL, and some other languages, but i really enjoy the hardware aspect of computers, building them and setting them up.. I am trying to decide whether a certification will help me at all.. Maybe an 'A+' , MCSE or MCSA certification or even a SUN certification.. I Just thought i would get some opinions on to what pays well and falls more into the technical side of computers rather than just programming and development (100% of the time).. Suggestions are open to other certs and specialties as well.. Thanks!
 
Those certifications will all certainly help you get into that field so, yes, I would recommend you take them if wish to build/setup computers. Just keep in mind that you will likely (although this is said without knowing your current salary) take a considerable pay cut. But money's not everything right? That's what we try to tell ourselves...haha

Ok, that's not to say that there aren't any good paying jobs in that field. Working in the IT department for larger companies can still pay well and you would be doing just as you would like to- setting up and maintaining computer systems within the company. Surely there must be such a department at the place you currently work, right?
 
Those certifications will all certainly help you get into that field so, yes, I would recommend you take them if wish to build/setup computers. Just keep in mind that you will likely (although this is said without knowing your current salary) take a considerable pay cut. But money's not everything right? That's what we try to tell ourselves...haha

Ok, that's not to say that there aren't any good paying jobs in that field. Working in the IT department for larger companies can still pay well and you would be doing just as you would like to- setting up and maintaining computer systems within the company. Surely there must be such a department at the place you currently work, right?

Yes, there are those kinds of areas within the place i work.. Also, i am an entry level programmer, so I'm not getting paid the average 55-70k an experienced 2+ years programmer would get.. But its all about experience right. I am kind of worried about money.. But would definitely be happy in the 70k range for sure... I have about 6 months experience so far...
 
Well are you sure that you don't want to continue what you're doing now? Take into account what you've said. You are an entry level programmer! The jobs you work as an entry level programmer are likely going to suck. But that's where experience comes into play. Get your experience then you have a lot more options to work on projects with different companies that you might find to be more interesting. So what I'm saying is to try not to limit yourself just yet and assume that what you're doing now will be all there is do for the rest of your life.

Also, I highly doubt you will find a 70K a year job as a computer tech. In fact I am certain you won't. Probably not even 55K...
 
Well are you sure that you don't want to continue what you're doing now? Take into account what you've said. You are an entry level programmer! The jobs you work as an entry level programmer are likely going to suck. But that's where experience comes into play. Get your experience then you have a lot more options to work on projects with different companies that you might find to be more interesting. So what I'm saying is to try not to limit yourself just yet and assume that what you're doing now will be all there is do for the rest of your life.

Also, I highly doubt you will find a 70K a year job as a computer tech. In fact I am certain you won't. Probably not even 55K...

I know a few guys making well over 70k actually one makes over 100k with the same degree i have.. they just have about 10+ years experience on me and are doing team leads and project management.. They both said that they started out doing what i am doing. One was more networking and DB management and the other was app support and development..
 
I am an MIS major at my college and I have an associates in Web-Development. Currently I am the head of the Web Development/Application Development/Database Administration/Graphic Design Branch of the Company (vs the I.T. consulting, helpdesk, etc...) It's a small company. ;) I am the lead application developer and project manager. I've been witht this company 2 years and I have 5 years professional programming experience.

The reason I say all of this is because I also wasn't sure about the MIS thing, unlike you, I love programming and I wanted to stick to that, but this applies to hardware as well. What I have found is, the higher "up" on the ladder you are, the more decisions you get to make about your future. I would say stick with it for now, give it another 6 months, maybe a year. Look for opportunites to get into the hardware side of the company. Definately get your A+.

As a side note, I don't know if it gets a whole lot more technical than the programming ;).

I have a couple people that I manage, one of them I know doesn't care for programming. Thats primarily what I have him doing, because thats what we need, but he loves security. So, whenever possible, I put him on the parts of the application or site we're working on that involve encryption and cryptography. If the opportunity arises that we need someone in security only, I'll probably move him on over there. Maybe you should make your supervisor aware that you love the hardware aspect of it.

As long as it doesn't interfere with your current workload, ask your supervisor if he can put you on any hardware related issues the company has, even data recovery or ghosting drives would be a start.

Basically what I'm saying in this really long winded post (that I was logged out of in the middle of writing), is that I aggree with Ð88. You should do the best with what you're doing now, be open minded but also express an interest (and more importantly: competency) in hardware and you might get lucky. If you don't after another year or so, maybe then you should look for another company.

But yes, on the strictly hardware side of things, there isn't a terrible amount of money to be made because it's cheaper to buy a new one (usually) than it is to fix it.
 
I know a few guys making well over 70k actually one makes over 100k with the same degree i have.. they just have about 10+ years experience on me and are doing team leads and project management.. They both said that they started out doing what i am doing. One was more networking and DB management and the other was app support and development..

i was saying as a computer tech..what you are thinking of doing.
 
I wouldn't mind working with databases/networking/securities.. And even team lead or project manager.. I will have to get more info on exactly what my friends do..
 
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